sell out

verb

1. Also (chiefly Brit): sell up. to dispose of (supplies of something) completely by selling

2. informal,  (tr) to betray, esp through a secret agreement

3. informal,  (intr) to abandon one's principles, standards, etc

noun

1. informal,  a performance for which all tickets are sold

2. a commercial success

3. informal,  a betrayal

4. informal,  a person who betrays their principles, standards, friends, etc

Idioms and Phrases

Dispose of entirely by selling. For example, The rancher finally sold out to the oil company , or The tickets to the concert were sold out a month ago . [Late 1700s]

Betray one's cause or colleagues, as in He sold out to the other side . [ Slang ; late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Parkes notes that the film was among the very first to sell out when tickets for this year’s festival went on sale.

From Los Angeles Times

As late as midsummer, he was still running advertisements for the concert, which didn’t sell out until the waning days of July 1965.

From Salon

All 27 performances are expected to sell out as usual for the kind of spectacle that exists nowhere else.

From Los Angeles Times

On Saturday, an electronic dance music set was planned, with the main artist posting online that they expected tickets to sell out — just before organizers decided to postpone the show.

From Los Angeles Times

This is because the high demand from parents and those working in education for those dates means travel firms can hike prices up and still sell out.

From BBC